Culture and Sports: 54th Flower Exhibition opens in Athens

07/05/2008

Over 2,000 flower and plant varieties are on display in the Greek capital. Also this week: Bucharest hosts an international jazz competition.

Athens' 54th Flower Exhibition includes over 2,000 varieties of flowers and plants. [Getty Images]

The 54th Flower Exhibition opened in Athens's northern suburb of Kifissia. The event, which ends on May 18th, offers an opportunity to see more than 2,000 varieties of plants and flowers. It will be accompanied by a series of cultural events, aimed at promoting environmental protection.

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The first Macedonian Film Festival in London took place from April 29th to Monday (May 5th). It opened with a screening of "Shadows", directed by Milco Mancevski.

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Bucharest will host an international jazz competition from Thursday (May 8th) to Monday, bringing together 19 bands from 15 countries. The event is part of the EUROPAfest series. The jury includes jazz artists from around the globe, such as Italy's Roberto Magris and South Africa's Michael Rossi.

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The 25th Classic Marathon of Athens will take place on Sunday (May 11th), coinciding with Mother's Day celebrations. The race will start at the Kallimarmaro stadium and end at the city's centre. Runners with disabilities will join the event.

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The 11th Istanbul International Puppet Theatre Festival began on Friday (May 2nd). Participants from Turkey, Argentina, Austria, Great Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Russia are taking part in the event, which opened with a performance of the play "Heartbeat" by Italy's Claudio Cinelli.

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An exhibition on Sarajevo crafts opened on Monday (May 5th), marking the Day of Sarajevo Canton. The exhibition aims to boost preservation of cultural heritage and encourage cultural tourism in Sarajevo.

(Various sources – 30/04/08-07/05/08)